My journey to earning a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University // helpful tips to succeed in graduate school

D162: Why “Good” is Never Good Enough for a Black Woman.

As a black woman born to poor immigrants, I don’t have the luxury of relying on “good enough,” I know my work is often inspected more critically. Marginalized identities cannot settle for “good enough” because the sad truth is—we’re taught to aim low. Thus, I’ve committed to proofreading and attending every office hour to overcome generalizations every day. I’ve learned my new focus must be on not how to make it perfect but how to make it work.

We lose perspective on the quality of our creations immediately after creating them. And the more we scour over them in pursuit of fresh perspectives, the farther away they move. Combined with an obsession for perfection and often the result is paralysis. One can build a culture of excellence without the expectation that every employee needs to regularly deliver flawless results. Even Steve Jobs managed to temper his perfectionism by hiring people he trusted to uphold his caliber. This helped Apple tackle mass market and become less of a niche product company. Simply put, in the work world: good enough and done is better than perfect and never completed.

Challenging the Status Quo: I’ve learned to lead by faith and work until I am content and have reached an excellence that’s both irrefutable to others and something I’m proud to claim.